Communities are groups in which we participate, sharing a common interest, identity, or locale. They can be as small as a family, or as large as a nation.
Until a tragedy strikes, and the community expands. Or rather, our shared humanity forms its own expanded community, and so we are shocked and saddened and we grieve for people we have never met. People in Paris, Charleston, Orlando.
It doesn’t matter that the people in Paris speak French, or that the people in Charleston were Christians and people of color. Nor does it matter that the people in Orlando were lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. They were people with whom we now feel the bonds of community—and for whom we ache and mourn.
But not all tragedy happens on a massive scale. Sometimes, it only strikes one person. And sometimes that person may only appear as a screen name or a user ID.